10 Most Irredeemable Star Trek Villains

We were never going to warm to the guy; he was the last prefect to oversee the brutal occupation of Bajor before, much to his chagrin, Cardassian withdrawal in 2369. There aren't many ways to spin it: if it walks like a fascist dictator, talks like a fascist dictator, then it's probably mononymous tyrant Dukat, or 'Elmo' as Ronald D. Moore unofficially baptised him. And never forget, he killed Jadzia in cold blood!

It was in Deep Space Nine's Waltz that, just in case you hadn't twigged before, Dukat's true depravity was revealed for all to see. As he descended into the madness of evil, he ceased the slow dance around his feelings for the Bajorans. In the season six episode, he poured out his vile hatred to Sisko:

From the moment we arrived on Bajor, it was clear that we were the superior race. […] I hated them! [….] I should've killed every last one of them! I should've turned their planet into a graveyard the likes of which the galaxy had never seen!

In spite of this sickening diatribe, the character retained a surprising level of popularity amongst fans. As related in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, some fans on the Internet went so far as to defend Dukat's actions during the Occupation, and this apologia for genocide shocked the show's writers and producers. They, as well as Marc Alaimo who played him, had tried to make Dukat a fully rounded character, but there should have been no room for ambiguity in the fact that he was the despicable despot of the piece.

By DS9's finish, Dukat had disguised himself as a member of the species he so despised in order to curry favour with the next miscreant on this list. Then, somewhat fittingly, he wound up in Bajoran hell.